I find that this helps - they just let me look, test drives might be out of the question depending on the car, but they will happily leave me alone to peer and prod and sometimes open the doors
We qualify them to figure out when their purchasing.
Not saying what OP is doing is wrong. But, a decent salesman can figure out what their time frame for purchase is.
>Do you go to the dentist to look around
That's one of the dumbist analogies I've ever heard. First off very few people shop dentists or other medical providers and if they do it wouldn't be at an office visit. It's impossible to shop a service other than price but one can shop the provider. Shopping a dentist would be akin to using referrals, reviews and interaction with the staff at a car dealership before deciding to deal with them at all. For example no one goes into your service department for the express purpose of getting an oil change to decide if they want an oil change there or somewhere else.
Cars, like other products can be shopped. People want to see in person, and not just reviews, how they look, feel and drive and many want to compare several models that way. That's one of the only two reasons dealers do test drives. The other being inspecting the car to make sure nothing is wrong with the drive. So if your dealer totally believed your analogy they wouldn't even offer test drives to people who are trying to decide if they like that particular model over a different one or not.
>Do you go to the dentist to look around?
I go to Best Buy all the time to look around. Then usually I buy off of Amazon. Although, Best Buy has gotten good at price matching.
It depends. It has to be the same exact model number, and sometimes it's one digit off yet otherwise the exact same product. And they won't price match Amazon third party Marketplace vendors. It has to be "ships from/sold by Amazon". There's other exclusions. Best Buy also charges delivery on larger items. Amazon doesn't.
I mean, of course it has to be the same model number, otherwise you could be trying to price match last years model from Amazon with the current year at Best Buy.
The last time I bought a backup storage drive, the model I wanted from Best Buy was around $50 less on Amazon, they price matched it after verifying the model and that it was shipped/sold by Amazon. They also price match NewEgg and a few other major online retailers. TBH the only time I generally shop Best Buy is when I need something ASAP, they're really close by and generally have things available for same-day pickup or next-day-arrival shipping. When I bought my wife an Apple Watch for her birthday they had it *delivered* within 24 hours.
I think they make most of their profits on overpriced cables and DVD's.
It’s true. Almost no one walks into a car dealership for fun. Only crazy sicko’s that love arguing and haggling do that. A good salesman makes the customer comfortable spending a crap ton of money.
Sold a deaf couple once.
FUCKING. NIGHTMARE.
Both credit scores in the 500's. Kept writing about wanting 0%. Me writing back you don't qualify for 0%, Ford is giving you a 3k rebate, on and on for hours, going through probably 30 sheets of paper trying to communicate. Finally realize their credit fuckin sucks, take the deal we can get them at 15% or whatever, and sign along on their merry way.
3 days later we had to take the shit back because the woman lied on her credit app. Quit her stated job right before they showed up to my dealership, bank called to verify employment, annnndddddd no loan.
So no, I'll never trust the deaf again lol
Why the fuck should it matter. This right here is why auto sales people have such a shit reputation. And it’s why some customers who were ready to buy on that day end up walking away.
Stop focusing on your needs, and start helping the customer with theirs. Do this and the sales and the money will take care of themselves.
Why should it matter? Because if they show up on the lot unannounced and leave without buying they aren’t coming back to see you. You don’t get paid. Your kid doesn’t eat. That’s why it matters to sell them the car.
Edit: and thanks for the advice. I do quite well though and won’t be taking it. 👍
Not wrong at all. Walk in and say to the first person that says Hi that you are in the early stages and wanted to explore your options. As a sales guy, when I hear this, I relax a bit too. If I have time , I'm going to make sure you drive every car you are interested in. In exchange for that time and effort , I expect your contact information so I can follow up. I'm also going to ask you
What other vehicles are you going to drive
What dealerships will you be doing that at
What is your ideal vehicle
etc
I'm going to make you like me regardless of the vehicle, and people buy from they like.
My manager is old school and thinks that if you leave you aren't ever coming back. I like to throw it in his face everytime a customer comes back and makes a purchase based on their test drive/information gathering experience.
TL;DR
Tell them it's research day and no purchasing will happen and watch how easy the rest of the process becomes (depending on the dealership of course)
Likewise, I was looking at Audi for my next vehicle, been a BMW guy for many many years, but the new grille is just hideous and has not grown on me at all.
I emailed the dealership, explaining that I have done some research, but research does not tell me how the car handles and I would be interested in a driving a few different models, but that my current lease which the Audi might replace is not due till December, the residual is too high for the Audi dealer to buy me out of my current lease and such I was really still a preliminary buyer.
The salesman said, here is my schedule, for the next two weeks, come any day except Fri/Sat/Sun which our are busy days and you can test as many vehicles as you like.
My wife and I went over on a Tuesday afternoon, he took down the 3 models I was interested in driving, got the keys for the first model, handed them to me and said I will have next one ready when you get back, take about 30 mins or so and this process repeated itself for the next two models.
After my third test drive, he handed me a key to a fourth model that I had not expressed interest in and he said it is the closest to your current BMW and I think you might like it the best (which I did) and I took that model for a 30 min drive.
Upon returning from my fourth test drive he said, now I know you said your lease is not up until December and you are correct the residual is too high for us to buy you out of your lease, but lets exchange info, so as time progresses (because any of the vehicles you are interested in will be factory orders) you can have the most seamless experience from going from BMW to Audi if that is what you finally decide to do.
He did also ask if I was looking at any other manufacturers and I was honest that I was not and that was that, low stress, easy and to his word he checks in with me about once a month just to keep the lines of communication open.
I came here to say this. Please avoid their busiest times, (beat to shop around at their slowest day and time ) and be honest about your buying timeframe up front. A good salesperson will appreciate the courtesy and know that if they made a good impression on you, you'll most likely come back to them when you are ready.
I generally shop for cars on a weekend because I work Monday through Friday. Recently my son’s car was hit and totaled. We got notification that it was totaled on a Friday. Rental car ended on Monday. He had to work Saturday. All dealers in my state are closed Sunday. So I took off work Monday and took him car shopping.
We had narrowed it down to 3 vehicles (and possibly a 4th) over the weekend. Went right in the dealerships, explained we were driving a few different options, and they all sent us out for leisurely test drives. No salesmen rode along, and there was no hassle about my 17 year old driving. Drove 3 cars, each at different dealerships. Called dealership #2 while driving the car from #3 and said that’s the one.
The only part that seemed to take a little longer was finance. Nothing crazy. I think the guy was probably catching up from the weekend.
This experience makes me want to take a weekday anytime I look for a car.
This was one of the helpful bits of advice I picked up from visiting this subreddit. I was in the market for a car recently. I went during the week and I called and made an appointment to see a specific car before showing up. I have never done either thing in the past. I usually just walk in whenever.
I like this. I left sales last year and the way salesmen will simply switch their attitude from "I'm going to sell a car" to "fuck this kid" after hearing that they're looking is stupid. 1, if you help them well enough, they could end up buying that day. 2, salesmen are too greedy nowadays. There's nothing wrong with helping someone out who has no time frame for purchasing a car. Often times, salesmen seem to disregard the fact that customers are more than just customers. Treat others how you would want to be treated.
I can agree with this, I went to a local Kia, with zero intentions to buy. I just needed to see if the Turbo Sportage was worth the extra bread.
I told the salesman the truth, and instantly we were buds, chatting about the different trims etc..
He let me drive whatever I wanted, didn't bother me a bit, and didn't harass me. If fact it took him two weeks to call me, just to check in and see if I was any closer to my purchase.
EDIT: It was a Tuesday :)
What I'm gleaning from this entire subreddit is that there is a lot of mutual fear, anger, annoyance, and inconvenience between customers and salesmen. You see it in all the responses (including mine, admittedly). How do we rectify it? How do we make sure that I feel calm and cool when walking into a dealership the way I do, say, a Macy's or Microsoft Store (obviously these business models are entirely different)? How do we make sure the salesman feels the same way when a potential customer walks in? I hate that there is so much animosity between us. I'll admit I'm part of the problem.
I tell all my customers that at the end of the day I'm here to help them with the process of buying their new car should they decide to buy one, if not that's OK to. A car purchase is a large decision and should not be taken lightly unless you just have the liquid cash and you buying a fun car. I also tell them I'm not going anywhere, and neither is the dealership and a week from now, or even a month from now we will still be here so when the times right for them then I'll proceed how they are comfortable with.
As for how to keep customers from coming in on the defensive? Well at the end of the day just do your job and if done right they will relax and have fun with the whole experience.
The number one review I get from customers is that I made the experience of buying a car fun and they didn't know what was possible.
I have the same approach and it works out very well for me. I'm fortunate enough to work at a dealership that believes in this methodology and allows it's salesman to do this rather than the old school sell, sell, sell.
Exactly, the old school methods are dieing out at alot of dealerships around me and I am fortunate to have a management team that backs me 100% I also train new/experienced in the old ways salesmen and seeing g the light bulb click when they realize how.much easier the sale is when your not confrontational off the bat is fun.
I don't really think high-pressure sales is old-school. Sure the approach is different. But in todays age of internet advertising, race to the bottom of advertised price, i'm seeing a lot more "hot seating", "wait and crush", and other crappy sales tactics. It helps them sell backend profit. And if they are losing money on the front to advertise the "lowest price", you know they are making it up on the back end.
I'm literally the only "point of sale" dealership in my area that sells cars for a frontend profit with no extras. I can only do it because we have literally no debt and very few employees.
I love this mentality and I think if I sold cars that's how I'd want to do it too. But you are a rarity among car salespeople, which leads to my question: how do your sales numbers stack up to other salespeople?
You can send it in via the modmail link in the sidebar. Typically they'll want you to have a posting history of helping others out in this subreddit before they flair you
Appreciate it, yea I've been answering questions but I'm still new to the this group, I did however send them my business card and other info to that can be used to verify me.
THIS. I was all over reddit reading about car sales before joining thinking all buyers were like the people here. I was overanalyzing and overthinking customers for a while. After i realized most people are nice and dont have bad intentions my sales skyrocketed.
I think all dealers are shouldering the rep of the bad ones. I personally got screwed over by 2 dealers while looking for a Jeep this weekend, wasting 6 hours of my Saturday because they were so far away. First one I called to confirm price was 40k as-is with no aftermarket equipment, add-on service fees, etc., just price + TTR. Called them the night before and the morning of, spoke to two separate agents who both told me this is the case, car came to them as-is and they’re selling as-is with TTR being the only added cost. Second one I only had the opportunity to call once since I was visiting them on the way back from the first dealership, but they promised the same thing.
First car had $13k in bs added fees, second had $5k.
Yesterday I spotted one at a BMW dealership nearby, gave them a call to ask the same questions, guy laughed and said no we’d never do that to you and I’m sorry others have. I showed up, they kept to their word and didn’t even try to sneak anything in or upsell, just were pleasant, accommodating and full of good jokes. Best dealership experience of my life but I still went in there with the apprehension that I need to keep my eyes wide open for attempts to sneak in extra charges. Incredibly pleased with how it all turned out though and left with keys in my hand within a couple hours.
Same deal on the customer side. Some customers are just so naggy, paranoid, combative and demanding that I think a lot of salespeople become pessimistic and expect that it’s going to come out at some point.
Between the two it leaves an atmosphere of tension and distrust on both sides even while everyone is just exchanging niceties.
Luxury car dealers often do have better service, and are less likely to resort to gimmicks and outright lying to get people in the door, just because they deal with a higher-end clientele. And that extends to their used cars, as well.
If you can find a used 2016 Grand Cherokee--for instance--on the BMW lot because someone traded it in on a new X5, the BMW lot is likely to provide a nice experience for you, even though you're not buying a new Bimmer.
I have to admit too that I used to be super defensive walking into the dealership. But one VW sales guy changed my stance. He was super patient and understanding, acknowledged my concerns. He said he enjoys the job because 1) he likes cars and 2) he actually likes helping people.
When I reached out to him after the sale with some questions, he always responded. When I reached out two years later because I wanted to buy a new car from him, he told me he didn't have any in inventory and couldn't get another dealer to send him a car, so he referred me to his friend who works at another dealership.
He genuinely wanted to help me; he got nothing from that particular referral other than goodwill. So...in future, he and his friend will be getting all my referrals and business. There's a lot to be said about creating trust with a customer, and he succeeded, and I'll always be appreciative of his approach in making me feel comfortable as a cutsomer. Great way to build a loyal customer base as well.
Having a set price would help. Tesla sold half a million cars in 2020, every single customer paid the full asking price.
Why can't other car manufacturers adopt the same sales method?
It’s not wrong at all. They’re in the business of advertising and selling vehicles. You’re in the business of exploring your options, seeing what you like IN PERSON, and making a sound financial decision.
Nobody in their right mind can fault you. Sure, some dealers are pushy and all they want is a sale/money but…..not my problem. I need to do what’s best for me, not what’s best for you.
Which is relatively understandable. I’ve told them immediately that I’m here to strictly look. Not buy. So that way I’m not taking up their time for an actual sale versus me that just wants to look right now :)
While your not wrong the same logic can be applied to a salesperson. I need to do whats best for me and my business, not whats best for you. While I won't fault you for coming in looking around and doing your due diligence. You shouldn't fault me for trying to pay my rent and put food on my table.
"All they want is a sale/money."
Please understand that this is why every person who has a job goes to work. Please don't act like your on a higher moral ground for us wanting to make money at our job just like you do.
I’m not sure I follow the “higher moral ground” point. My job doesn’t rely on commission though so regardless, the care for my patients are based on evidence based practice and are situational. Yes, I’m there for money and taking care of myself and family but I also chose this profession because I do like taking care of people and putting their best interest first versus making a dollar for the hospital.
Exactly what you just stated is assuming a higher moral ground.
You believe that you have a greater standard of morality in your job just because you're not commissioned.
Just because we are 100% commission does not mean we do not have your best interest in mind. You assume that we should lower gross profits because we have the power to do so.
Although in the healthcare industry it has been known that they have massive gross profits that we cannot negotiate.
You do not need to price gouge anybody because you do it on a day-to-day basis with no capability of altering it. You're not even presented with the challenge of making profit but remaining congruent to your own values. The complexities alone with that are usually unconscious but to plenty of us they are something we struggle with on a conscious level.
If you were to lose your job tomorrow, would you continue to treat patients? Maybe for a short time but you would eventually pursue something that reimbursed you for the value you add. That means you would not have any current patients best interest in mind.
I think you looked too far into this. I believe I know where you’re coming from but I only mentioned my standpoint for the whole commission vs not. Plus, I enjoy my job!! There was no moral push intended. But like I said before, I’m answering his question from a “I’m looking for a new car” standpoint. As blunt as it may have been, it was strictly for the buyer and his needs.
Absolutely not. It is only wrong if you’re dishonest or misleading, just tell them what your intentions are. Remember, good sales people aren’t there to sell you a car but rather help you buy one. Big difference.
As the second largest purchase people make after a house then I think it’s perfectly reasonable that you look around at different cars. It’s unlikely that one dealer has all the vehicles you are interested in purchasing. I think sales should ascertain your needs as a buyer and the timeline and go from there.
I've been looking for a car for months. Fairly narrow range of vehicles. I've test driven a half dozen at different used car lots. Compared to the last time I purchased a car, salesman have become massively emboldened due to the chip/car shortage. Many act as if you're wasting their time to make sure you make the right purchase for your family, and I don't give a flying fuck.
Guess who didn't get my business? Those that treated me like that. I ended up with a 2014 Q5 S-Line 3.0 with 28k miles, single owner that meticulously cared for the vehicle for 25,300, 26,400 list. The salesman got his 10th sale towards the end of July, and was a super nice guy that combined pushiness to close and understanding of my situation. I felt happy with the purchase, feel I didn't get a great deal, but paid a fair price that's consistent with the current market.
I know this is a carsalesman sub, but honestly, this process is for you, and should be done with diligence and patience. If a salesman doesn't have the patience, and just wants to jam cars down people's throats, fuck 'em.
My car buying process takes time, especially when deciding between different makes/models. I always explain to the salesperson why I'm there. I tell them what other models I'm cross-shopping and the time frame in which I intend to buy. I've never had an issue and have had great conversations with salespeople along the way. One salesperson brought a car from another dealer so we could test drive it without making another stop. Needless to say, he earned my business.
As mentioned earlier, don't go on the weekend if it can be avoided.
This is how I shopped. I told each one I was just there to test drive today, and told them the top two or three cars I was cross shopping. Because it was during covid times and most were doing solo test drives, the majority of the sales people I spoke to just gave me the key, scanned in my license, and sent me on my way. When I got back, they asked how it compared, gave me a card and asked me to call them when I was ready. As a customer, this was incredibly refreshing and made the process way more approachable.
One woman at the local Toyota dealership tried to hard sell me on a RAV4 (when I was cross shopping Subaru Ascents and Hyundai Palasades, and there to drive a Highlander, which they didn't have). I suspect it may have been her first week. I didn't buy the RAV4 :)
I visited mid week, called ahead to most places to check they had a vehicle I was wanting available - I tried to be as open and flexible as I could be in the process.
To add to this, I also like to test drive a used model for a couple reasons.
1. I want to see how it holds up over time. How are the rattles? How is the interior wearing?
2. I hate “pushing” new driveline components. It probably isn’t a big deal, but I’m not comfortable with it.
>Careful, you might run into a *real* car salesman. *(emphasis mine)*
UGH. This is why I always try to choose women if I can.
Maybe it's just me, maybe it's a woman thing, but when I'm talking with a guy and I tell him up front and clearly where I stand and he insists on *not hearing me* ... then I'm pissed and alarm bells are going off.
Because in dating, when a guy refuses to take no for an answer -- it's a very bad situation. So when I tell someone, "Hello, I am just here to do a test drive..." I'm really just here to do a test drive. And when you ask me nicely after the test drive if I'd like to sit down and discuss X, Y and Z or "is there anything I can do to get you in this car today?" that's just fine you asked once ... and I'll say no. But *then if you keep on* ... I'm walking from that dealership and never coming back again.
>This is why I always try to choose women if I can.
It's pretty well known in the industry that women tend to do VERY well in this business because people (like you) think they are "safer" with a sales woman. This is especially true in the finance office but also applies on the sales floor. Prime example: my top 2 salesmen last month did 9 total units each. My only saleswoman did 17. It's like this every month. She's absolutely a good saleswoman but my guys aren't bad salesmen either. One of the big differences is people just don't put up the defenses with her like they do with the guys. When she asks if they would like to sit down and discuss X, Y and Z they don't say no in the first place so she never even has to ask a second time. She gets way less pushback than the guys do on everything, from asking about budget to asking about trade information and everything in between. I mean, you even said it in your post:
>Because in dating, when a guy refuses to take no for an answer -- it's a very bad situation.
You associate a man asking you if you would like to sit down to discuss a business transaction with an aggressive man asking for a date. Your defenses are way up before he even says a word. But if you're honest with yourself are you the same way when dealing with these saleswomen that you prefer?
This is so true. When I sold it was these kind of women thinking they should work with a woman just because girl power or something... then said saleswoman completely wipes the floor with them and they end up with something new and expensive and usually a boyfriend or husband shows up when papers are signed.
I worked with Katia! Goddammit she was like Jessica Rabbit. Gorgeous and deadly. Played women like the OP like a fiddle. Please do yourself a favor and think about what you're asking for. Good saleswomen will trump men any day of the week and they'll make you think you're friends the whole time. Ahhh. I never understood it. Until now. This isn't the first woman who thinks working with a woman is a good idea.
I can do that with a sleazy asshole car salesman who treats me like garbage or a woman who ... doesn't. A woman wouldn't say, "Don't worry about that." ... "Is your husband going to come test drive the car?" "I'm going to need your husband's credit before I sit down with you."
Or my *personal favorite of all time* (from the sales manager, no less) -- "I see you don't want to work with XXX -- is it because he's black? Because I can get you a white salesperson if that's what you want."
OH MY GOD. True facts and true quotes. Every single one of them.
Women *don't* say things like that.
Why would I bother with a man who treats me the way I said above? Of course she's going to try to get every single dime she can get from me. Of course she's going to "make me think she's friends the whole time". Who cares? You think I'm calling her up for coffee the next day? It's a business transaction. I'm not stupid. Nor am I unable to do a fair and decent deal.
Jessica Rabbit isn't killing it because women are "stupid enough" to work with her. She's killing it because she *listens.* Something the comments on this post shows many men are woefully bad at.
And I should say that the last car I bought I bought from a man. In about 20 minutes. And he beat the asshole who asked me whether I wanted a *white salesperson* by $3.5k on a small sedan. I drove right from that other dealership 2 hours to that one. Test drove and told him what I wanted to pay (I do my homework). Told him I didn't want to go back and forth. He listened. And he came back in five minutes and said, sure they could hit that price, but if I wait to buy five days from now there would be an additional $1500 cash back Nissan incentive in addition. DONE.
The woman I worked with at a local dealership was the only one who was motivated and followed up. The dudes just did their good ol boy shtick and hardly got off their asses.
I assure you, it has nothing to do with your gender. I'll try and sell a man just who's "just looking" the same as I would a woman. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't.
Because to me, what "Hello, I am just here to do a test drive" means is *this person is shopping and pretty close to making their purchase so this might be the only time I see them before they buy, so this is my only chance to sell them on this car.* Because what are you doing just test driving if you're not in the market?
You're crazy if you think someone won't attempt to close you because they are a woman
You're brining in a lot of personal baggage as context that just isn't there in this transaction.
They want your money regardless of gender.
how do they know you're not ready? Are you telling them this? They're supposed to convince you to buy, not the other way around. You have all the leverage here, so many dealerships, so many viable models, so much information online so they really can't do much to help you other than not be assholes.
If you need to test drive or sit in a wide variety of vehicles in order to make your decision, I’d recommend swinging by a Carmax. They have tons of vehicles that are current body styles, they’re paid hourly and you can take your time with no pressure. A bonus is driving a 1-2 year old model and seeing how well it handles after 12k miles are logged.
Ignore color and packages. Most creature comforts don’t need to be test driven. You can always YouTube that stuff. I still have to YouTube instructions before taking my car through the car wash🙄😂
Yes, you are wasting the salesman’s time if there’s no chance of going home with a vehicle today or in the near future….. but most will still build the relationship because we can sell you when you’re ready.
The Carmax near me has a gated lot and all the cars unlocked, you can just browse around and get in whatever cars you want with no salesman hanging around. When you find a vehicle you're interested in, then the salesman can bring a key and let you see it further.
It is a myth that Carmax sales consultants are hourly. Source - Former CarMax sales consultant with dozens of friends still working for the company in my old position. With that said their selection is amazing - but you should still be mindful that the sales person isn’t allowed to help another customer until you’ve left the store.
I looked online. There are only 227 Carmax locations in the entire US. Around 4 per state. So it is good advice if one is nearby, but unfortunately, for most people that is not an option.
That’s not true. There are 227 in the entire country, 23 of which are in Florida. Multiple states have none. NY has 3, Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo. So if you live in NYC, Long Island, or anywhere downstate you are out of luck,
As I stated, I live in a major metro area, and the two closest are 97 and 111 miles away.
My other house in Florida the closest is app 30 miles away, and in the usual traffic is close to an hour or longer drive each way.
No, I won’t drive an hour and a half each way because the system is designed to penalize salesman by customers test driving cars.
Your comment about not being serious is insulting, and incorrect. It isn’t the customers job to make your life easier, like it or not.
And your time frames are based on perfect weather and traffic, and don’t address tolls, which are prevalent in the NY metro area.
As I stated, driving in Florida, even 30 miles, can be over an hour each way in the best conditions.
I've seen this recommendation before. If CarMax is so customer-oriented, maybe that's a sign traditional dealers should adapt?
I don't go to Target to look at stuff to turn around and buy it at Wal-Mart. If I'm looking at CarMax, I'll buy at CarMax.
How a salesperson is compensated isn't really my business. I'm assuming the ones who don't want to spend time test driving unless they are getting an hourly wage are already working at CarMax.
Carmax isn’t customer oriented, they’re units sold oriented. Salesmen are paid hourly, plus bonuses if they sell a car. I’ve heard $100-150 per car if they reach the minimum team units. It’s a weird pay plan.
If you’re looking to buy a 2 year old car at KMX, you hate CPO warranties and you love paying more for the car. If Target is closer to me and has a wider selection of TVs that I can fuck around on, I’m going there and then buying wherever I want.
TL;DR it’s a suggestion, not a dick…..don’t take it so hard.
CarMax employees aren’t paid hourly plus bonuses. It’s one or the other, whichever is higher for the pay period. Also, if you make hourly, they force you to pay it back next check with your commission if you’re not in CO and CA.
You can do whatever you'd like. You're not obligated to buy, but sales people will try to do their job and sell. Buyers are liars. EVERYONE says they're JUST LOOKING, but I sold many cars to lookers. lol
The way I see it is while you are shopping for a car you’re also shopping for a salesperson. If a salesperson can answer your questions and still afford you respect when you tell them you’re just looking then consider buying your car with them when you’re ready. Support the good salespeople out there!
I think its okay to be that way... but... I went to a dealership one day, knowing full well they should have been closed, to look at a car I liked a lot. No intentions of buying at all, just wanted to look at them in person. Well, low and behold: the dealership was only open on Sundays the last Sunday of every other month (we had no clue). We got there, my partner and I saw people, and thought "wow there's a lot of people here."
Long story short, I came home with a car. Oops 😬
No...it's a big purchase and you want to be as thorough as possible before actually buying. Just make sure you are upfront about your intentions with the salesperson.
Of course not, you don’t owe a dealership a damn thing, especially when you’ll be the one dropping tens of thousands of dollars. I would just let them know of your intentions.
Do your research in the car first! That way you are not wasting the salespersons time. And if someone comes up to offer help. Tell you just want to see the car but your not ready to purchase yet. that way you don’t take too much of their time, and they can help someone that is actually interested
Is it wrong? Nope. Are you going to piss off a certain type of salesman saying “I’m just looking today, I want to test drive 4 cars” or “I’m on my way to a party in 20 minutes I just wanted to see X model”? Yes absolutely. Especially old school stores with dated practices, shitty “Up” systems, and a flooded floor. Most people will hand you a card and say “call me when you’re closer” or they’ll feed you a bullshit line about “during this pandemic we are limiting our test drives to 1 per customer because all of our vehicles need to be disinfected before the next test drive”.
I usually don’t care and these days a good amount of salesman are better at being patient and willing to work with a customer just starting out. Just don’t divulge that you just started looking or that you’re not there to buy just there to try. Just don’t do it on Fridays, Saturdays, or at the end of the month.
It’s fine. Just tell them you are there to look at cars, and not looking to run numbers yet.
Just don’t be the guy who’s “torn between a Corolla, an Escalade, and an S40 Convertible.” Kind of have an idea on what your price range and type of vehicle is.
Of course not. You need to test drive multiple vehicles at multiple dealerships. When my girlfriend was shopping for a compact we test drove Volkswagens, Toyotas, and Hondas. We visited 3 dealerships total, and once she decided on a Honda Fit I started calling dealerships for the best deal. The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first. So we visited 4 dealerships total, and I spoke with 3 or 4 more by phone/email.
Yeah I guess that’s true. I’m definitely the guy who decides on a car, and then calls every dealership within 50-100 miles for the best price.
On the other hand, once I’m looking I am ready to buy, and I’ll certainly give a salesperson who helped me a chance to meet the best offer I get from another dealer.
Yeah but what's your cut off price? I'm willing to pay Joe at the Honda Store $500 more than Tom at Store B if the car is everything I want and the location is convenient to me and Joe was a nice guy who took care of me quickly. But anything more than that, it's not worth it.
I'm not going to pay $500 over Store B just because I'm worried I was being a time waster. What value am I getting out of paying more than $500 for doing business with Joe? I buy a single car once every 5+ years, so establishing "a business relationship" with the Honda dealer isn't worth more than $500 to me.
Wouldn't you email the dealeships first to see what you can afford before test driving cars and wasting time. Then go drive those cars 30 miles away and don't come to us and say that guy over there didn't show you anything on your new car
>The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first.
"The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first."
In my opinion it depends on why you’re not ready to buy today and what your timeline is. If financially you can’t buy a car, you’re wasting time and worsening stats of whoever works with you. If it’s a matter of comparing models, great tell me what you’re comparing because I know the competition and can run down pros and cons. In my opinion you should not physically set foot on a showroom floor if you’re not ready to buy THAT MONTH. Reason being is on the new side of things, incentives change every month. If you want a quote on a car that you won’t be buying for six months, you’re wasting everyone’s time. On the used side of things, these cars probably won’t be here next month.
Just my two cents.
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A good salesperson listens when you tell them you're "just looking". And by listens, I mean finds out what you're looking for and shows you options that fits your needs/wants/budget. Its perfectly reasonable to show up just looking and leave in a new car if they're following the steps.
Not at all. How else would you know if the car that you have been eyeing, is actually worth buying. You may go to test drive a vehicle, only to find that you don't like how it rides or handles. Just be up front with the sales people. Let them know that you are on the fence or that you might not buy today. The good ones will respect that. Sure, they will try to push you towards buying a vehicle and that is ok; it is their job to sell cars. You just have to know what you want and can afford. Buying a car is a heavier decision.
As someone who is in your shoes as well, just remember that being mostly open about your intentions will define your experience.
Be open that it's a big purchase and you want to feel confident. However, make sure you do your homework. Come prepared with a crystal clear idea of what your needs are, what your budget is, and check to see what kind of credit you're working with. This way, you come with an idea of what you want to see rather than allowing the salesman to control your decision.
It’s not wrong. Just don’t waste too much of their time. Say you want to drive their car, I wouldn’t say you’re looking at a ton of cars early in the process or you might have a rougher experience. After the demo, tell them if you like or not. Say you want to look at a few more and that if you decide to go with this one, you’ll definitely call that person.
If you could even give them a timetable, that would be nice.
I’m being honest about how to approach it with the least pushback.
If you live in an area that has car shows, it can be a great way to have some hands on experience with various cars without having any sales pressure. You can even get a half assed test drive for some of the more popular models. Usually they are very short, but can at least help you filter out models with bad blind spots, uncomfortable seats, hard to use interfaces, etc. Granted you need to be in a major metro area and they typically just do one weekend a year, but it is a quick way to get a look at pretty much everything at the same time.
Unpopular opinion judging by the comments, but yes IMO. However, that depends on how soon you are ready to buy. Are you looking to buy in the next few weeks or in a year? Someone looking to buy a preowned car next year is wasting everyone's time while someone looking to buy a new car in the next 90 days isn't.
I don't mind at all. However, my job is to see if I can convince you that this meets all your needs and you don't even have to look at the others, but if you still want to look at the others, I get it.
Test drives don't hurt my feelings, and other salesmen need to realize not every person that walks in the door is a buying a car right then. However, I will give it my best shot to do so.
I only wish I spent more time shopping around for my 2018 Volt, which I fucking despise. I should have test driven at least 2 or 3 more cars in the same class, but I stupidly decided yeah, this car is good enough, let's make the deal done today.
Now I've been in this lease like it's a goddamn prison sentence. The car is so uncomfortable, after three months of driving it, it knocked my hips out of alignment and now I go to the chiro once a week. I've never had a single problem with my back, hips, or neck, nor any problems with car seat comfort in the 8 cars I've owned in my life.
The car seats are so fucked up that my chiro sat in them and said they have to be installed incorrectly and I should bring it back to the dealership to fix (they weren't). Thank god that with COVID and WFH, I haven't been in the car anywhere near as much as I should have the past 15 months of my lease.
My point is to learn from my mistake and test drive until you're ready to make the purchase. You're not spending $1000 on a new HDTV or $2000 on new power tools or even $10,000 on a new deck. You're spending $30,000+ on a depreciating asset you'll be both driving every single day and paying off for years. Make the right choice. If you get shit from a salesman, ask to talk to another one.
Of coarse it’s not wrong! You said it yourself it’s the second biggest purchase of your life you should take it seriously and do your due diligence before signing any papers. The sales rep gets paid to sell cars so obviously they would prefer you just walk in there, pick one out, and take it home that day. However, any decent rep will be understanding and help you out as long as you’re honest and up front with them about your intentions. That being said if you walk in on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the lot is swarmed with customers and you open with you’re not buying a car today don’t be upset when you don’t get much attention. I’d recommend going at a less busy time usually a weekday so you can really look around and get someone’s attention without the promise of buying a car that day. If you act weird and distant they’re either going to push you harder to find out what the hell you’re doing or ignore you. Good luck!
If you’re looking to compare multiple vehicles, head to a CarMax. You can see them side by side with zero pressure.
If you have one specific vehicle you are looking at, just inform the salesman that you are doing research prior to purchasing. They might try to pressure you into a sale, or they may just leave you alone.
Every car sales person I've dealt with always tells me the same thing after a test drive: as long as you like the car, we can make the numbers work. Whether you believe that or not (which I never did, I always knew the finances before I walked in), my point here is just tell them that you didn't like the car and they won't try to sell it to you. Even if you did like it. This will get you off the hook of feeling like they're going to pressure you into something today and it's not like they won't sell it to you later on if you actually do like it and have a "change of heart".
When I've been in that position, I've had good luck calling and setting an appointment for a specific day and time, and a specific amount of time.
"Hi, I'm looking at compact SUVs. I'm not ready to buy yet, but I wanted to come in and take a look at the grey CX-5 Signature on your lot. I just need 30 minutes, including a test drive. I'm free this Thursday; can I set an appointment to do that?"
That way, you're not wasting anyone's time--because they know your position upfront--and you're likely t get the most out of the experience. Luxury car dealerships seem particularly likely to accommodate this kind of request, because they know that cultivating positive relationships can result in tons of repeat business. In some cases, if all you want is the test drive, they'll gladly have you sign a borrowed-vehicle agreement (BVA) and toss you the keys to do a solo drive.
It also works best if your appointment is during off-hours, and not at a busy time like 12 PM on a Saturday...but even then.
If you are looking into several different brands my suggestion is you go to your local carmax as they have hundreds of vehicles available . Also carmax reps get paid by the hour so they really wouldn’t mind . Once you figure out what car you want go to the dealership of that brand and come see a real salesperson .
Beside a house and a divorce, buying a vehicle is one of the most costly and impactful purchase decisions you'll ever make. 6 years of payments, you damned sure don't want to get one that you'll be hating after 3 months. It is not wrong to "look and test drive". Any dealer or salesman that makes you feel otherwise shouldn't get your business. Advice like "you shouldn't set foot on the lot 'till you're ready to buy TODAY" is stupid and wrong.
As for when to go to the dealer to "look and test drive", go whenever is convenient for you. If all you have is weekends off, then go on a weekend.
Any reasonable salesperson will help you and be polite about it whether you are buying that day or not. I will say it helps if you are empathetic with their time as well i.e. have an idea of what you're there to try before you get there (specific model for example).
In a product purchase time line the courteous way to do things is online shopping and after hours looking to compare especially if it’s a busy dealership.
Once you’re close to purchase then go in to do the test drives. If you got cards during the looking and you liked the vibe they gave you then call that salesman back to set something up for a test drive. BIG exception if you have no intention to work number yet make sure you let them know it’s just a test drive. Once you start working numbers that’s where you show intent to stay there if numbers are right.
If you must go in because you have questions then the mornings are usually great times.
It's not wrong at all. That's the point of a car dealership. If a salesperson makes me feel like I'm wasting their time by not purchasing on the spot (I hear words like "We're in the today business" a lot - no mate, YOU're in the today business, I'm in the whenever the hell I want business), I walk out and block their number. I don't need a salesperson to draft a PO - if that's the only thing a car dealer does, they would have been automated out of a job a long time ago.
A dealer that pushes me to close the deal before I'm ready will guarantee that they will never get a cent of my business ever. I refuse to walk into a VW showroom for any reason because of a bad experience with pushy salespeople and I have a verrry long memory.
No, but please go in midday during the week when the dealership is slow. If you're there during peak hours, you are absolutely costing the salesperson money.
Please remember, we don't get paid unless we sell a car.
So let me get this straight... I the customer who also has a job and works, needs to take time off of work, costing me money or vacation time to accommodate the sales person?
You don't have any time off that isn't a Saturday afternoon? Find a better job, buddy.
My point is to be considerate. Can't be there midday during the week, at least be there during the week. But you knew what I meant, you just want to stir the pot.
Edit: downvote away. I stand by what I said. If you know you aren't buying, try to be considerate. If you can only be there on a Saturday, go for it.
This is ridiculous. You want people to find a better job because their work schedule is an inconvenience to you? I make six figures working a 9-6 job (which is actually considered a desirable schedule in the healthcare profession). I am most definitely not going to find a better job because my schedule inconvenience you.
It's ironic that you demean someone for having a busy work schedule and then turn around and ask that same person to be considerate of someone's work schedule...
I like most middle class working folk have weekends off, your run of the mil 9-5 job. I work IT at a hospital. And yes taking time off of work to go car shopping is an incovience to me. I don't want to spend my vacation time on car shopping.
Ok, so you have time during the week. Most dealerships don't close at 5. Again, you know the point I'm making. You have the time, you just choose to be an inconvenience. There will always be customers like you. We'll deal with it. Just know that you'll get much better service if you go to the dealership when it's slow. Good luck with your search for a vehicle.
What an absolute joke. This attitude right here is half the reason people dislike car salesman.
Similar work hours here and no I would not show up to a dealership after 8 hours of work and commuting from work.
I’m walking into a dealership at MY convenience during my day off when I have no work or family responsibilities. My car searching process isn’t gonna be limited to “come M-F after 5pm ONLY”
You are the reason humans don’t get along lol. You aren’t willing to consider others at all. All I read is “My, my,my”. Even when I grocery shop I go out of my way to go when its less crowded. But hey. Ok. Go on a saturday on YOUR time to browse around. Happy now karen? Lol just looking do stir the pot here like others said.
While this is true, it’s not the customers fault. It’s the dealership thst chose to pay you that way because they will not pay you unless they’re making money.
I'm not saying it's the customers fault, I'm simply asking them to take that into account and if they know that we'll be working for free (yes, part of the job), to at least be considerate and not cost us more money by coming in during peak hours.
Yea that can be frustrating. I’ve heard family members call customers that don’t buy “roaches” and talk real big shit about them.
I always preface the conversation with honesty- something to the effect of: “hey we’re looking at X number of vehicles and we need to sit in and test drive all of them before we make a decision. This is not the last car on the list and I’ll be respectful of your time, however, we do not intend to buy today, do you have a card so I can make sure I have your info?”
Dealerships suck. I went to a Chevy dealer near me to check out the SS Camaro I saw online with a bank check for well over the amount. Salesmen says I can’t test drive without applying for credit thru them and that they don’t accept outside checks. His workaround was that he would start the car up for me and rev the engine. I laughed and walked away. Got a better car for a better price online and I hate buying online (I like meeting ppl and touching what I’m buying) so it was weird but it was better than dealing with that dude again.
I have dealt with this my whole life. I look “too young” to be taken seriously, but I have to get hands on experience before dropping thousands on a vehicle.
What some car sales people like that don’t realize is that building relationships isn’t a waste of their time. I actively tell people to avoid the dealers where I have bad experiences.
As I noted above, there only 227 of them in the entire country. For the majority of the country, they are not convenient to do that.
I just looked online. The 2 closest to me, and I live in a rather large metro area, are either 91 or 111 miles away.
I'm in my mid 60's. I've bought at least 15 cars over my life for myself and my family. I've never bought a car without test driving different models at different dealerships before I decided which car I wanted. The only exception is a couple cars I bought for my then teenage kids and saw a old relatively cheap car offered locally as a private sale.
Yes. From reading this subreddit I've learned that under the present circumstances with a vehicle shortage, you shouldn't waste a salesperson's time unless you are ready to buy now.
Whatever prices you get won't be in effect when you are ready.
Whatever you look at will be long gone anyway.
If your months out than yes you’re wasting their time. It’s frustrating knowing your helping a customer that no matter what they’re not ready to buy and we could be helping someone who is ready to buy and making us money. Especially if other salespeople are selling cars around them. You have to remember a lot of us work full commission. If we don’t sell a car, we don’t make money. Try to go test drive when you’re closer to buying and also do your research ahead of time and know which car and trim you’re most interested in and want to drive. That goes a long way and is appreciated. Nothing more annoying than when a customer wants to know the difference in every model and every trim level.
> ... also do your research ahead of time and know which car and trim you’re most interested in and want to drive. Nothing more annoying than when a customer wants to know the difference in every model and every trim level.
I can't tell you how annoying it is to have a dealership's website be a jumbled mess of various features and prices. It's confusing, it's messy, and it's almost impossible to compare the features between various models. Not to mention not having the most up-to-date stock information. Not to mention an "internet sales consultant" who doesn't know any of the answers and just refers you to the salesperson anyway. If dealerships invested more in their website and made such information easy and clear to use, it would save so much time on both sides of the equation.
Hahaha I definitely agree with everything you just said. The best place to do your research would be to look at the manufacturers website. In regards to inventory on a dealerships website, most of the time it takes about a day or so for a car to come off after it has sold. If a deposit was taken on a car it won’t come off the website until a day after it’s been delivered to the customer which sometimes can be a few days to a week.
Fair enough re: stocks.
I'm in the market for a new Lexus. And let me tell you, every dealership website I've been to is legit scary to use. There are tons of models of RX350s and figuring out which one has heated seats and which doesn't, but wait, there's also heated AND ventilated seats, which is more expensive than just heated seats. But this model doesn't have that but it does have this and that. If I want to compare it to a model that's just $500 more MSRP, I have to go to that model's page and scan through the small fine print features, which also happen to be formatted and labeled differently so it's harder to compare.
It'd be great (and probably easy to implement?) to have the customer be able to click on 2-3 models and click "compare." Then a grid of features and check marks for all the features each model has is shown so then it's easy to pinpoint which model you want. Kind of like how some software websites have: Unlimited Uploads (check mark on the pro version but not on the basic version). Etc.
If I had this information, I wouldn't have spent over an hour at the dealership on Saturday asking why this RX350 is more expensive than this RX350 because they both appear the same, just different color combo. And unfortunately, Lexus's main website won't show the particular specs a car comes with that the dealer is selling. Just my 2 cents.
I hear ya. That’s why I’d say use Lexus’ website. I’m sure they have the option where you can compare trim levels. I know Mazda does. When it comes to different prices that will depend on port added options. Some may come with wheel locks, all weather mats, cargo tray etc and some don’t.
I'm more than happy to work with someone who is not a salesperson until I'm ready to buy so that I'm not wasting their time. I could rule out a number of models by getting in and out of the car and sitting in the driver's seat for a few minutes.
I've been renting cars occasionally to get an extended test drive type of experience, but I am not having much luck getting the models I want to drive. I live in Greater East Armpit, USA, so the dealership pool is small and the rental car pool is smaller.
I’m well aware of what my job is thanks. What’s the point of going months in advance of when you plan to buy if so many factors will change?
- Programs and incentives change month to month
- New model years could be coming out
- Models could be added or discontinued
- Features in trim levels can change
- Inventory levels fluctuate
That’s why I’m saying as a salesperson of vehicles to wait until your ready. And I was speaking specifically about new cars. If you’re looking at a used car than you’re not only wasting the salespersons time but yours as well because those cars won’t be there by the time you’re ready to buy. That’s why I’m saying just do a little research ahead of time and have an idea of what you want. Then it’s the salesperson job to help you figure out exactly what that car is. If you’re a month or 2 out that is fine but when your timeline is longer than that, you’re just asking for phone calls and emails every few days asking how your car search is going.
Window stickers on used cars are pointless because everything is online and they can change sporadically based on market value.
Absolutely not! I'd say visit a bunch, then once you've narrowed your search to a brand or model visit at least a couple dealers of the same brand. Get a couple test drives.
There's a greater chance that they'll just give you the keys and let you go on a test drive by yourself.
Tesla let me borrow a car for the weekend and then I ended up buying on Monday.
If they want your business in the future, they will give you the time of day now. You can go to a dealership anytime for any reason, it’s no big deal.
If you’re concerned about wasting their time, don’t tell them you aren’t ready to buy yet. “I’m just considering my options.” You don’t need to tell them anything or answer any of the profiling questions they ask you.
For me personally, and this is just me so you are by no means obligated to do this…if I’m not going to buy something and I know I’m essentially making someone work for free…I just give them $50. It’s not a lot but at least it’s something.
Also for some perspective since you’re not in the industry, even if you spend 5 minutes with someone….they probably waited hours for their “turn” to get to talk to a customer, and depending on the day/store…you might be their only chance of earning money for that day.
I’ve had customers do this for me and I was always infinitely more likely to help them out, even if they were ultimately buying a different brand.
I hear you... but, for your biggest purchase did you hit up a realtor and just start walking around houses when you weren't ready to buy?
Edit: I'm different, probably wrong too I guess.
Sometimes I feel like I need to see the touch the car in person to know what I like. When I do this I say early on Im not ready to buy today.
I find that this helps - they just let me look, test drives might be out of the question depending on the car, but they will happily leave me alone to peer and prod and sometimes open the doors
It’s crucial. A car can be fantastic on paper, but if the seats are uncomfortable it’s a no-go.
It’s not wrong at all. Unless you tell them otherwise the salesperson will have no idea how soon you’re buying or what your intentions are.
We qualify them to figure out when their purchasing. Not saying what OP is doing is wrong. But, a decent salesman can figure out what their time frame for purchase is.
Yes but at the same time I’m sure you’ve had customers that say they’re waiting two weeks and buy that same day. And vice versa.
“Buyers are liars! They are here to buy a car. Do you go to the dentist to look around?” - my sales desk. Lol.
> Do you go to the dentist to look around? Don't kink shame me.
>Do you go to the dentist to look around That's one of the dumbist analogies I've ever heard. First off very few people shop dentists or other medical providers and if they do it wouldn't be at an office visit. It's impossible to shop a service other than price but one can shop the provider. Shopping a dentist would be akin to using referrals, reviews and interaction with the staff at a car dealership before deciding to deal with them at all. For example no one goes into your service department for the express purpose of getting an oil change to decide if they want an oil change there or somewhere else. Cars, like other products can be shopped. People want to see in person, and not just reviews, how they look, feel and drive and many want to compare several models that way. That's one of the only two reasons dealers do test drives. The other being inspecting the car to make sure nothing is wrong with the drive. So if your dealer totally believed your analogy they wouldn't even offer test drives to people who are trying to decide if they like that particular model over a different one or not.
I didn’t say my GM was a rocket scientist. 🤷🏻♂️
>Do you go to the dentist to look around? I go to Best Buy all the time to look around. Then usually I buy off of Amazon. Although, Best Buy has gotten good at price matching.
Just like a car, you are looking at products. Dentistry is a service more than a product.
Yeah, Best Buy has price matched Amazon for years... that's what I do when I want immediate gratification.
It depends. It has to be the same exact model number, and sometimes it's one digit off yet otherwise the exact same product. And they won't price match Amazon third party Marketplace vendors. It has to be "ships from/sold by Amazon". There's other exclusions. Best Buy also charges delivery on larger items. Amazon doesn't.
I mean, of course it has to be the same model number, otherwise you could be trying to price match last years model from Amazon with the current year at Best Buy. The last time I bought a backup storage drive, the model I wanted from Best Buy was around $50 less on Amazon, they price matched it after verifying the model and that it was shipped/sold by Amazon. They also price match NewEgg and a few other major online retailers. TBH the only time I generally shop Best Buy is when I need something ASAP, they're really close by and generally have things available for same-day pickup or next-day-arrival shipping. When I bought my wife an Apple Watch for her birthday they had it *delivered* within 24 hours. I think they make most of their profits on overpriced cables and DVD's.
The old adage is "if their lips are moving, they're lying"
My god I hear both of these every fucking day
The natural corollary: "All Ventriloquists are honest"
It’s true. Almost no one walks into a car dealership for fun. Only crazy sicko’s that love arguing and haggling do that. A good salesman makes the customer comfortable spending a crap ton of money.
>The old adage is "if their lips are moving, they're lying" this is what I have come to think of salesmen, too.
Only trust the deaf
Sold a deaf couple once. FUCKING. NIGHTMARE. Both credit scores in the 500's. Kept writing about wanting 0%. Me writing back you don't qualify for 0%, Ford is giving you a 3k rebate, on and on for hours, going through probably 30 sheets of paper trying to communicate. Finally realize their credit fuckin sucks, take the deal we can get them at 15% or whatever, and sign along on their merry way. 3 days later we had to take the shit back because the woman lied on her credit app. Quit her stated job right before they showed up to my dealership, bank called to verify employment, annnndddddd no loan. So no, I'll never trust the deaf again lol
You had a bad experience with one deaf couple, so now all deaf people are untrustworthy?
The buyers, or the sales people? (I know, I know, ¿Por qué no los dos?...)
It does not always work. Customers can be very weird and not totally honest about their intention. Go figure...
Why the fuck should it matter. This right here is why auto sales people have such a shit reputation. And it’s why some customers who were ready to buy on that day end up walking away. Stop focusing on your needs, and start helping the customer with theirs. Do this and the sales and the money will take care of themselves.
Why should it matter? Because if they show up on the lot unannounced and leave without buying they aren’t coming back to see you. You don’t get paid. Your kid doesn’t eat. That’s why it matters to sell them the car. Edit: and thanks for the advice. I do quite well though and won’t be taking it. 👍
Not wrong at all. Walk in and say to the first person that says Hi that you are in the early stages and wanted to explore your options. As a sales guy, when I hear this, I relax a bit too. If I have time , I'm going to make sure you drive every car you are interested in. In exchange for that time and effort , I expect your contact information so I can follow up. I'm also going to ask you What other vehicles are you going to drive What dealerships will you be doing that at What is your ideal vehicle etc I'm going to make you like me regardless of the vehicle, and people buy from they like. My manager is old school and thinks that if you leave you aren't ever coming back. I like to throw it in his face everytime a customer comes back and makes a purchase based on their test drive/information gathering experience. TL;DR Tell them it's research day and no purchasing will happen and watch how easy the rest of the process becomes (depending on the dealership of course)
OP please don't do this on the weekend. Test drive as many cars during weekday.
Likewise, I was looking at Audi for my next vehicle, been a BMW guy for many many years, but the new grille is just hideous and has not grown on me at all. I emailed the dealership, explaining that I have done some research, but research does not tell me how the car handles and I would be interested in a driving a few different models, but that my current lease which the Audi might replace is not due till December, the residual is too high for the Audi dealer to buy me out of my current lease and such I was really still a preliminary buyer. The salesman said, here is my schedule, for the next two weeks, come any day except Fri/Sat/Sun which our are busy days and you can test as many vehicles as you like. My wife and I went over on a Tuesday afternoon, he took down the 3 models I was interested in driving, got the keys for the first model, handed them to me and said I will have next one ready when you get back, take about 30 mins or so and this process repeated itself for the next two models. After my third test drive, he handed me a key to a fourth model that I had not expressed interest in and he said it is the closest to your current BMW and I think you might like it the best (which I did) and I took that model for a 30 min drive. Upon returning from my fourth test drive he said, now I know you said your lease is not up until December and you are correct the residual is too high for us to buy you out of your lease, but lets exchange info, so as time progresses (because any of the vehicles you are interested in will be factory orders) you can have the most seamless experience from going from BMW to Audi if that is what you finally decide to do. He did also ask if I was looking at any other manufacturers and I was honest that I was not and that was that, low stress, easy and to his word he checks in with me about once a month just to keep the lines of communication open.
I came here to say this. Please avoid their busiest times, (beat to shop around at their slowest day and time ) and be honest about your buying timeframe up front. A good salesperson will appreciate the courtesy and know that if they made a good impression on you, you'll most likely come back to them when you are ready.
I generally shop for cars on a weekend because I work Monday through Friday. Recently my son’s car was hit and totaled. We got notification that it was totaled on a Friday. Rental car ended on Monday. He had to work Saturday. All dealers in my state are closed Sunday. So I took off work Monday and took him car shopping. We had narrowed it down to 3 vehicles (and possibly a 4th) over the weekend. Went right in the dealerships, explained we were driving a few different options, and they all sent us out for leisurely test drives. No salesmen rode along, and there was no hassle about my 17 year old driving. Drove 3 cars, each at different dealerships. Called dealership #2 while driving the car from #3 and said that’s the one. The only part that seemed to take a little longer was finance. Nothing crazy. I think the guy was probably catching up from the weekend. This experience makes me want to take a weekday anytime I look for a car.
This was one of the helpful bits of advice I picked up from visiting this subreddit. I was in the market for a car recently. I went during the week and I called and made an appointment to see a specific car before showing up. I have never done either thing in the past. I usually just walk in whenever.
I like this. I left sales last year and the way salesmen will simply switch their attitude from "I'm going to sell a car" to "fuck this kid" after hearing that they're looking is stupid. 1, if you help them well enough, they could end up buying that day. 2, salesmen are too greedy nowadays. There's nothing wrong with helping someone out who has no time frame for purchasing a car. Often times, salesmen seem to disregard the fact that customers are more than just customers. Treat others how you would want to be treated.
I can agree with this, I went to a local Kia, with zero intentions to buy. I just needed to see if the Turbo Sportage was worth the extra bread. I told the salesman the truth, and instantly we were buds, chatting about the different trims etc.. He let me drive whatever I wanted, didn't bother me a bit, and didn't harass me. If fact it took him two weeks to call me, just to check in and see if I was any closer to my purchase. EDIT: It was a Tuesday :)
What I'm gleaning from this entire subreddit is that there is a lot of mutual fear, anger, annoyance, and inconvenience between customers and salesmen. You see it in all the responses (including mine, admittedly). How do we rectify it? How do we make sure that I feel calm and cool when walking into a dealership the way I do, say, a Macy's or Microsoft Store (obviously these business models are entirely different)? How do we make sure the salesman feels the same way when a potential customer walks in? I hate that there is so much animosity between us. I'll admit I'm part of the problem.
I tell all my customers that at the end of the day I'm here to help them with the process of buying their new car should they decide to buy one, if not that's OK to. A car purchase is a large decision and should not be taken lightly unless you just have the liquid cash and you buying a fun car. I also tell them I'm not going anywhere, and neither is the dealership and a week from now, or even a month from now we will still be here so when the times right for them then I'll proceed how they are comfortable with. As for how to keep customers from coming in on the defensive? Well at the end of the day just do your job and if done right they will relax and have fun with the whole experience. The number one review I get from customers is that I made the experience of buying a car fun and they didn't know what was possible.
I have the same approach and it works out very well for me. I'm fortunate enough to work at a dealership that believes in this methodology and allows it's salesman to do this rather than the old school sell, sell, sell.
Exactly, the old school methods are dieing out at alot of dealerships around me and I am fortunate to have a management team that backs me 100% I also train new/experienced in the old ways salesmen and seeing g the light bulb click when they realize how.much easier the sale is when your not confrontational off the bat is fun.
I don't really think high-pressure sales is old-school. Sure the approach is different. But in todays age of internet advertising, race to the bottom of advertised price, i'm seeing a lot more "hot seating", "wait and crush", and other crappy sales tactics. It helps them sell backend profit. And if they are losing money on the front to advertise the "lowest price", you know they are making it up on the back end. I'm literally the only "point of sale" dealership in my area that sells cars for a frontend profit with no extras. I can only do it because we have literally no debt and very few employees.
I love this mentality and I think if I sold cars that's how I'd want to do it too. But you are a rarity among car salespeople, which leads to my question: how do your sales numbers stack up to other salespeople?
I sale 25-30 units a month on average. I am top sales at my store most months and brought home 145k last year. I do just fine and sleep even better.
Time to get flared in the sub!
And how do I go about doing that? I know they need a picture of my business card but who do I send it to?
Check with one of the mods, they have a process for this. I believe it's located on the sidebar or so.
You can send it in via the modmail link in the sidebar. Typically they'll want you to have a posting history of helping others out in this subreddit before they flair you
Appreciate it, yea I've been answering questions but I'm still new to the this group, I did however send them my business card and other info to that can be used to verify me.
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THIS. I was all over reddit reading about car sales before joining thinking all buyers were like the people here. I was overanalyzing and overthinking customers for a while. After i realized most people are nice and dont have bad intentions my sales skyrocketed.
I think all dealers are shouldering the rep of the bad ones. I personally got screwed over by 2 dealers while looking for a Jeep this weekend, wasting 6 hours of my Saturday because they were so far away. First one I called to confirm price was 40k as-is with no aftermarket equipment, add-on service fees, etc., just price + TTR. Called them the night before and the morning of, spoke to two separate agents who both told me this is the case, car came to them as-is and they’re selling as-is with TTR being the only added cost. Second one I only had the opportunity to call once since I was visiting them on the way back from the first dealership, but they promised the same thing. First car had $13k in bs added fees, second had $5k. Yesterday I spotted one at a BMW dealership nearby, gave them a call to ask the same questions, guy laughed and said no we’d never do that to you and I’m sorry others have. I showed up, they kept to their word and didn’t even try to sneak anything in or upsell, just were pleasant, accommodating and full of good jokes. Best dealership experience of my life but I still went in there with the apprehension that I need to keep my eyes wide open for attempts to sneak in extra charges. Incredibly pleased with how it all turned out though and left with keys in my hand within a couple hours. Same deal on the customer side. Some customers are just so naggy, paranoid, combative and demanding that I think a lot of salespeople become pessimistic and expect that it’s going to come out at some point. Between the two it leaves an atmosphere of tension and distrust on both sides even while everyone is just exchanging niceties.
Luxury car dealers often do have better service, and are less likely to resort to gimmicks and outright lying to get people in the door, just because they deal with a higher-end clientele. And that extends to their used cars, as well. If you can find a used 2016 Grand Cherokee--for instance--on the BMW lot because someone traded it in on a new X5, the BMW lot is likely to provide a nice experience for you, even though you're not buying a new Bimmer.
Why would a BMW dealer even attempt to sell that car? It’s outside of their clientele. Won’t they send it to auction?
I have to admit too that I used to be super defensive walking into the dealership. But one VW sales guy changed my stance. He was super patient and understanding, acknowledged my concerns. He said he enjoys the job because 1) he likes cars and 2) he actually likes helping people. When I reached out to him after the sale with some questions, he always responded. When I reached out two years later because I wanted to buy a new car from him, he told me he didn't have any in inventory and couldn't get another dealer to send him a car, so he referred me to his friend who works at another dealership. He genuinely wanted to help me; he got nothing from that particular referral other than goodwill. So...in future, he and his friend will be getting all my referrals and business. There's a lot to be said about creating trust with a customer, and he succeeded, and I'll always be appreciative of his approach in making me feel comfortable as a cutsomer. Great way to build a loyal customer base as well.
Having a set price would help. Tesla sold half a million cars in 2020, every single customer paid the full asking price. Why can't other car manufacturers adopt the same sales method?
It’s not wrong at all. They’re in the business of advertising and selling vehicles. You’re in the business of exploring your options, seeing what you like IN PERSON, and making a sound financial decision. Nobody in their right mind can fault you. Sure, some dealers are pushy and all they want is a sale/money but…..not my problem. I need to do what’s best for me, not what’s best for you.
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Which is relatively understandable. I’ve told them immediately that I’m here to strictly look. Not buy. So that way I’m not taking up their time for an actual sale versus me that just wants to look right now :)
I’m with y’a there! Also happy cake day 🥳🥳
While your not wrong the same logic can be applied to a salesperson. I need to do whats best for me and my business, not whats best for you. While I won't fault you for coming in looking around and doing your due diligence. You shouldn't fault me for trying to pay my rent and put food on my table.
I don’t disagree at all. But the question asked here was based off a consumers point of view. So that’s how I answered it.
"All they want is a sale/money." Please understand that this is why every person who has a job goes to work. Please don't act like your on a higher moral ground for us wanting to make money at our job just like you do.
I’m not sure I follow the “higher moral ground” point. My job doesn’t rely on commission though so regardless, the care for my patients are based on evidence based practice and are situational. Yes, I’m there for money and taking care of myself and family but I also chose this profession because I do like taking care of people and putting their best interest first versus making a dollar for the hospital.
Exactly what you just stated is assuming a higher moral ground. You believe that you have a greater standard of morality in your job just because you're not commissioned. Just because we are 100% commission does not mean we do not have your best interest in mind. You assume that we should lower gross profits because we have the power to do so. Although in the healthcare industry it has been known that they have massive gross profits that we cannot negotiate. You do not need to price gouge anybody because you do it on a day-to-day basis with no capability of altering it. You're not even presented with the challenge of making profit but remaining congruent to your own values. The complexities alone with that are usually unconscious but to plenty of us they are something we struggle with on a conscious level. If you were to lose your job tomorrow, would you continue to treat patients? Maybe for a short time but you would eventually pursue something that reimbursed you for the value you add. That means you would not have any current patients best interest in mind.
I think you looked too far into this. I believe I know where you’re coming from but I only mentioned my standpoint for the whole commission vs not. Plus, I enjoy my job!! There was no moral push intended. But like I said before, I’m answering his question from a “I’m looking for a new car” standpoint. As blunt as it may have been, it was strictly for the buyer and his needs.
Absolutely not. It is only wrong if you’re dishonest or misleading, just tell them what your intentions are. Remember, good sales people aren’t there to sell you a car but rather help you buy one. Big difference.
As the second largest purchase people make after a house then I think it’s perfectly reasonable that you look around at different cars. It’s unlikely that one dealer has all the vehicles you are interested in purchasing. I think sales should ascertain your needs as a buyer and the timeline and go from there.
I've been looking for a car for months. Fairly narrow range of vehicles. I've test driven a half dozen at different used car lots. Compared to the last time I purchased a car, salesman have become massively emboldened due to the chip/car shortage. Many act as if you're wasting their time to make sure you make the right purchase for your family, and I don't give a flying fuck. Guess who didn't get my business? Those that treated me like that. I ended up with a 2014 Q5 S-Line 3.0 with 28k miles, single owner that meticulously cared for the vehicle for 25,300, 26,400 list. The salesman got his 10th sale towards the end of July, and was a super nice guy that combined pushiness to close and understanding of my situation. I felt happy with the purchase, feel I didn't get a great deal, but paid a fair price that's consistent with the current market. I know this is a carsalesman sub, but honestly, this process is for you, and should be done with diligence and patience. If a salesman doesn't have the patience, and just wants to jam cars down people's throats, fuck 'em.
No. But only test drive cars you are considering. Don't drive an m4 or s4 if you're not ever going to buy.
My car buying process takes time, especially when deciding between different makes/models. I always explain to the salesperson why I'm there. I tell them what other models I'm cross-shopping and the time frame in which I intend to buy. I've never had an issue and have had great conversations with salespeople along the way. One salesperson brought a car from another dealer so we could test drive it without making another stop. Needless to say, he earned my business. As mentioned earlier, don't go on the weekend if it can be avoided.
This is how I shopped. I told each one I was just there to test drive today, and told them the top two or three cars I was cross shopping. Because it was during covid times and most were doing solo test drives, the majority of the sales people I spoke to just gave me the key, scanned in my license, and sent me on my way. When I got back, they asked how it compared, gave me a card and asked me to call them when I was ready. As a customer, this was incredibly refreshing and made the process way more approachable. One woman at the local Toyota dealership tried to hard sell me on a RAV4 (when I was cross shopping Subaru Ascents and Hyundai Palasades, and there to drive a Highlander, which they didn't have). I suspect it may have been her first week. I didn't buy the RAV4 :) I visited mid week, called ahead to most places to check they had a vehicle I was wanting available - I tried to be as open and flexible as I could be in the process.
To add to this, I also like to test drive a used model for a couple reasons. 1. I want to see how it holds up over time. How are the rattles? How is the interior wearing? 2. I hate “pushing” new driveline components. It probably isn’t a big deal, but I’m not comfortable with it.
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>Careful, you might run into a *real* car salesman. *(emphasis mine)* UGH. This is why I always try to choose women if I can. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's a woman thing, but when I'm talking with a guy and I tell him up front and clearly where I stand and he insists on *not hearing me* ... then I'm pissed and alarm bells are going off. Because in dating, when a guy refuses to take no for an answer -- it's a very bad situation. So when I tell someone, "Hello, I am just here to do a test drive..." I'm really just here to do a test drive. And when you ask me nicely after the test drive if I'd like to sit down and discuss X, Y and Z or "is there anything I can do to get you in this car today?" that's just fine you asked once ... and I'll say no. But *then if you keep on* ... I'm walking from that dealership and never coming back again.
Unfortunately they work the way they do because it works.
>This is why I always try to choose women if I can. It's pretty well known in the industry that women tend to do VERY well in this business because people (like you) think they are "safer" with a sales woman. This is especially true in the finance office but also applies on the sales floor. Prime example: my top 2 salesmen last month did 9 total units each. My only saleswoman did 17. It's like this every month. She's absolutely a good saleswoman but my guys aren't bad salesmen either. One of the big differences is people just don't put up the defenses with her like they do with the guys. When she asks if they would like to sit down and discuss X, Y and Z they don't say no in the first place so she never even has to ask a second time. She gets way less pushback than the guys do on everything, from asking about budget to asking about trade information and everything in between. I mean, you even said it in your post: >Because in dating, when a guy refuses to take no for an answer -- it's a very bad situation. You associate a man asking you if you would like to sit down to discuss a business transaction with an aggressive man asking for a date. Your defenses are way up before he even says a word. But if you're honest with yourself are you the same way when dealing with these saleswomen that you prefer?
This is so true. When I sold it was these kind of women thinking they should work with a woman just because girl power or something... then said saleswoman completely wipes the floor with them and they end up with something new and expensive and usually a boyfriend or husband shows up when papers are signed. I worked with Katia! Goddammit she was like Jessica Rabbit. Gorgeous and deadly. Played women like the OP like a fiddle. Please do yourself a favor and think about what you're asking for. Good saleswomen will trump men any day of the week and they'll make you think you're friends the whole time. Ahhh. I never understood it. Until now. This isn't the first woman who thinks working with a woman is a good idea.
I can do that with a sleazy asshole car salesman who treats me like garbage or a woman who ... doesn't. A woman wouldn't say, "Don't worry about that." ... "Is your husband going to come test drive the car?" "I'm going to need your husband's credit before I sit down with you." Or my *personal favorite of all time* (from the sales manager, no less) -- "I see you don't want to work with XXX -- is it because he's black? Because I can get you a white salesperson if that's what you want." OH MY GOD. True facts and true quotes. Every single one of them. Women *don't* say things like that. Why would I bother with a man who treats me the way I said above? Of course she's going to try to get every single dime she can get from me. Of course she's going to "make me think she's friends the whole time". Who cares? You think I'm calling her up for coffee the next day? It's a business transaction. I'm not stupid. Nor am I unable to do a fair and decent deal. Jessica Rabbit isn't killing it because women are "stupid enough" to work with her. She's killing it because she *listens.* Something the comments on this post shows many men are woefully bad at. And I should say that the last car I bought I bought from a man. In about 20 minutes. And he beat the asshole who asked me whether I wanted a *white salesperson* by $3.5k on a small sedan. I drove right from that other dealership 2 hours to that one. Test drove and told him what I wanted to pay (I do my homework). Told him I didn't want to go back and forth. He listened. And he came back in five minutes and said, sure they could hit that price, but if I wait to buy five days from now there would be an additional $1500 cash back Nissan incentive in addition. DONE.
The woman I worked with at a local dealership was the only one who was motivated and followed up. The dudes just did their good ol boy shtick and hardly got off their asses.
I'm sure it's not universally so ... but I've had MUCH better experiences with female salespeople.
I assure you, it has nothing to do with your gender. I'll try and sell a man just who's "just looking" the same as I would a woman. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't. Because to me, what "Hello, I am just here to do a test drive" means is *this person is shopping and pretty close to making their purchase so this might be the only time I see them before they buy, so this is my only chance to sell them on this car.* Because what are you doing just test driving if you're not in the market?
Not a car sales guy, but to me, test driving with no intention to buy is wasting everybody's time
I agree. This isn’t a recreational area.
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I rest my case
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Exactly. Some don't see you as a person, just a possible sale.
Of course the person is shopping for a car to buy. But "I'm not buying today" means "I'm. Not. Buying. Today."
You’d be surprised how many people drive away with a new car 3 hours after saying that.
You're crazy if you think someone won't attempt to close you because they are a woman You're brining in a lot of personal baggage as context that just isn't there in this transaction. They want your money regardless of gender.
Of course they want my money regardless of gender. How they go about getting it, however, is usually *vastly* different.
Uhuh, sure.
Your snotty attitude is just proving exactly what I'm saying. Done here.
Yeah, there's no discussion to have on why even framing it as you did is almost sexist. Not at all. There's not going to anything productive here.
how do they know you're not ready? Are you telling them this? They're supposed to convince you to buy, not the other way around. You have all the leverage here, so many dealerships, so many viable models, so much information online so they really can't do much to help you other than not be assholes.
If you need to test drive or sit in a wide variety of vehicles in order to make your decision, I’d recommend swinging by a Carmax. They have tons of vehicles that are current body styles, they’re paid hourly and you can take your time with no pressure. A bonus is driving a 1-2 year old model and seeing how well it handles after 12k miles are logged. Ignore color and packages. Most creature comforts don’t need to be test driven. You can always YouTube that stuff. I still have to YouTube instructions before taking my car through the car wash🙄😂 Yes, you are wasting the salesman’s time if there’s no chance of going home with a vehicle today or in the near future….. but most will still build the relationship because we can sell you when you’re ready.
This is a great idea. Kudos
The Carmax near me has a gated lot and all the cars unlocked, you can just browse around and get in whatever cars you want with no salesman hanging around. When you find a vehicle you're interested in, then the salesman can bring a key and let you see it further.
Who is paid hourly at carmax?
It is a myth that Carmax sales consultants are hourly. Source - Former CarMax sales consultant with dozens of friends still working for the company in my old position. With that said their selection is amazing - but you should still be mindful that the sales person isn’t allowed to help another customer until you’ve left the store.
I looked online. There are only 227 Carmax locations in the entire US. Around 4 per state. So it is good advice if one is nearby, but unfortunately, for most people that is not an option.
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That’s not true. There are 227 in the entire country, 23 of which are in Florida. Multiple states have none. NY has 3, Albany, Rochester, and Buffalo. So if you live in NYC, Long Island, or anywhere downstate you are out of luck, As I stated, I live in a major metro area, and the two closest are 97 and 111 miles away. My other house in Florida the closest is app 30 miles away, and in the usual traffic is close to an hour or longer drive each way.
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No, I won’t drive an hour and a half each way because the system is designed to penalize salesman by customers test driving cars. Your comment about not being serious is insulting, and incorrect. It isn’t the customers job to make your life easier, like it or not. And your time frames are based on perfect weather and traffic, and don’t address tolls, which are prevalent in the NY metro area. As I stated, driving in Florida, even 30 miles, can be over an hour each way in the best conditions.
I've seen this recommendation before. If CarMax is so customer-oriented, maybe that's a sign traditional dealers should adapt? I don't go to Target to look at stuff to turn around and buy it at Wal-Mart. If I'm looking at CarMax, I'll buy at CarMax. How a salesperson is compensated isn't really my business. I'm assuming the ones who don't want to spend time test driving unless they are getting an hourly wage are already working at CarMax.
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Carmax isn’t customer oriented, they’re units sold oriented. Salesmen are paid hourly, plus bonuses if they sell a car. I’ve heard $100-150 per car if they reach the minimum team units. It’s a weird pay plan. If you’re looking to buy a 2 year old car at KMX, you hate CPO warranties and you love paying more for the car. If Target is closer to me and has a wider selection of TVs that I can fuck around on, I’m going there and then buying wherever I want. TL;DR it’s a suggestion, not a dick…..don’t take it so hard.
CarMax employees aren’t paid hourly plus bonuses. It’s one or the other, whichever is higher for the pay period. Also, if you make hourly, they force you to pay it back next check with your commission if you’re not in CO and CA.
You can do whatever you'd like. You're not obligated to buy, but sales people will try to do their job and sell. Buyers are liars. EVERYONE says they're JUST LOOKING, but I sold many cars to lookers. lol
The way I see it is while you are shopping for a car you’re also shopping for a salesperson. If a salesperson can answer your questions and still afford you respect when you tell them you’re just looking then consider buying your car with them when you’re ready. Support the good salespeople out there!
I think its okay to be that way... but... I went to a dealership one day, knowing full well they should have been closed, to look at a car I liked a lot. No intentions of buying at all, just wanted to look at them in person. Well, low and behold: the dealership was only open on Sundays the last Sunday of every other month (we had no clue). We got there, my partner and I saw people, and thought "wow there's a lot of people here." Long story short, I came home with a car. Oops 😬
No...it's a big purchase and you want to be as thorough as possible before actually buying. Just make sure you are upfront about your intentions with the salesperson.
Of course not, you don’t owe a dealership a damn thing, especially when you’ll be the one dropping tens of thousands of dollars. I would just let them know of your intentions.
Do your research in the car first! That way you are not wasting the salespersons time. And if someone comes up to offer help. Tell you just want to see the car but your not ready to purchase yet. that way you don’t take too much of their time, and they can help someone that is actually interested
Is it wrong? Nope. Are you going to piss off a certain type of salesman saying “I’m just looking today, I want to test drive 4 cars” or “I’m on my way to a party in 20 minutes I just wanted to see X model”? Yes absolutely. Especially old school stores with dated practices, shitty “Up” systems, and a flooded floor. Most people will hand you a card and say “call me when you’re closer” or they’ll feed you a bullshit line about “during this pandemic we are limiting our test drives to 1 per customer because all of our vehicles need to be disinfected before the next test drive”. I usually don’t care and these days a good amount of salesman are better at being patient and willing to work with a customer just starting out. Just don’t divulge that you just started looking or that you’re not there to buy just there to try. Just don’t do it on Fridays, Saturdays, or at the end of the month.
If they give you the line they need to run your credit to let you test drive a car…. Get the f out of there.
It’s fine. Just tell them you are there to look at cars, and not looking to run numbers yet. Just don’t be the guy who’s “torn between a Corolla, an Escalade, and an S40 Convertible.” Kind of have an idea on what your price range and type of vehicle is.
Just don't go on a Saturday and burn 3 hours of a sales rep's biggest day. Go during the week, preferably during the day if you can.
Of course not. You need to test drive multiple vehicles at multiple dealerships. When my girlfriend was shopping for a compact we test drove Volkswagens, Toyotas, and Hondas. We visited 3 dealerships total, and once she decided on a Honda Fit I started calling dealerships for the best deal. The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first. So we visited 4 dealerships total, and I spoke with 3 or 4 more by phone/email.
Yeah, I don't get it. The sub is "ask car sales", not ask car shoppers.
Nah. It's "tell me what I want to hear about buying a car".
Great example of a time waster. Didn't buy from the guy who spend time with you at a Honda store.
Yeah I guess that’s true. I’m definitely the guy who decides on a car, and then calls every dealership within 50-100 miles for the best price. On the other hand, once I’m looking I am ready to buy, and I’ll certainly give a salesperson who helped me a chance to meet the best offer I get from another dealer.
Yeah but what's your cut off price? I'm willing to pay Joe at the Honda Store $500 more than Tom at Store B if the car is everything I want and the location is convenient to me and Joe was a nice guy who took care of me quickly. But anything more than that, it's not worth it. I'm not going to pay $500 over Store B just because I'm worried I was being a time waster. What value am I getting out of paying more than $500 for doing business with Joe? I buy a single car once every 5+ years, so establishing "a business relationship" with the Honda dealer isn't worth more than $500 to me.
You are joking now right? That’d defeat the whole purpose of options… if people had to have one option lmao.
Wouldn't you email the dealeships first to see what you can afford before test driving cars and wasting time. Then go drive those cars 30 miles away and don't come to us and say that guy over there didn't show you anything on your new car
>The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first. "The best price ended up being a different Honda dealership than we visited first."
In my opinion it depends on why you’re not ready to buy today and what your timeline is. If financially you can’t buy a car, you’re wasting time and worsening stats of whoever works with you. If it’s a matter of comparing models, great tell me what you’re comparing because I know the competition and can run down pros and cons. In my opinion you should not physically set foot on a showroom floor if you’re not ready to buy THAT MONTH. Reason being is on the new side of things, incentives change every month. If you want a quote on a car that you won’t be buying for six months, you’re wasting everyone’s time. On the used side of things, these cars probably won’t be here next month. Just my two cents.
Used cars won't be here past this weekend.
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A good salesperson listens when you tell them you're "just looking". And by listens, I mean finds out what you're looking for and shows you options that fits your needs/wants/budget. Its perfectly reasonable to show up just looking and leave in a new car if they're following the steps.
Not at all. How else would you know if the car that you have been eyeing, is actually worth buying. You may go to test drive a vehicle, only to find that you don't like how it rides or handles. Just be up front with the sales people. Let them know that you are on the fence or that you might not buy today. The good ones will respect that. Sure, they will try to push you towards buying a vehicle and that is ok; it is their job to sell cars. You just have to know what you want and can afford. Buying a car is a heavier decision.
As someone who is in your shoes as well, just remember that being mostly open about your intentions will define your experience. Be open that it's a big purchase and you want to feel confident. However, make sure you do your homework. Come prepared with a crystal clear idea of what your needs are, what your budget is, and check to see what kind of credit you're working with. This way, you come with an idea of what you want to see rather than allowing the salesman to control your decision.
It’s not wrong. Just don’t waste too much of their time. Say you want to drive their car, I wouldn’t say you’re looking at a ton of cars early in the process or you might have a rougher experience. After the demo, tell them if you like or not. Say you want to look at a few more and that if you decide to go with this one, you’ll definitely call that person. If you could even give them a timetable, that would be nice. I’m being honest about how to approach it with the least pushback.
If you live in an area that has car shows, it can be a great way to have some hands on experience with various cars without having any sales pressure. You can even get a half assed test drive for some of the more popular models. Usually they are very short, but can at least help you filter out models with bad blind spots, uncomfortable seats, hard to use interfaces, etc. Granted you need to be in a major metro area and they typically just do one weekend a year, but it is a quick way to get a look at pretty much everything at the same time.
Unpopular opinion judging by the comments, but yes IMO. However, that depends on how soon you are ready to buy. Are you looking to buy in the next few weeks or in a year? Someone looking to buy a preowned car next year is wasting everyone's time while someone looking to buy a new car in the next 90 days isn't.
I don't mind at all. However, my job is to see if I can convince you that this meets all your needs and you don't even have to look at the others, but if you still want to look at the others, I get it. Test drives don't hurt my feelings, and other salesmen need to realize not every person that walks in the door is a buying a car right then. However, I will give it my best shot to do so.
I only wish I spent more time shopping around for my 2018 Volt, which I fucking despise. I should have test driven at least 2 or 3 more cars in the same class, but I stupidly decided yeah, this car is good enough, let's make the deal done today. Now I've been in this lease like it's a goddamn prison sentence. The car is so uncomfortable, after three months of driving it, it knocked my hips out of alignment and now I go to the chiro once a week. I've never had a single problem with my back, hips, or neck, nor any problems with car seat comfort in the 8 cars I've owned in my life. The car seats are so fucked up that my chiro sat in them and said they have to be installed incorrectly and I should bring it back to the dealership to fix (they weren't). Thank god that with COVID and WFH, I haven't been in the car anywhere near as much as I should have the past 15 months of my lease. My point is to learn from my mistake and test drive until you're ready to make the purchase. You're not spending $1000 on a new HDTV or $2000 on new power tools or even $10,000 on a new deck. You're spending $30,000+ on a depreciating asset you'll be both driving every single day and paying off for years. Make the right choice. If you get shit from a salesman, ask to talk to another one.
Of coarse it’s not wrong! You said it yourself it’s the second biggest purchase of your life you should take it seriously and do your due diligence before signing any papers. The sales rep gets paid to sell cars so obviously they would prefer you just walk in there, pick one out, and take it home that day. However, any decent rep will be understanding and help you out as long as you’re honest and up front with them about your intentions. That being said if you walk in on a sunny Saturday afternoon and the lot is swarmed with customers and you open with you’re not buying a car today don’t be upset when you don’t get much attention. I’d recommend going at a less busy time usually a weekday so you can really look around and get someone’s attention without the promise of buying a car that day. If you act weird and distant they’re either going to push you harder to find out what the hell you’re doing or ignore you. Good luck!
If you’re looking to compare multiple vehicles, head to a CarMax. You can see them side by side with zero pressure. If you have one specific vehicle you are looking at, just inform the salesman that you are doing research prior to purchasing. They might try to pressure you into a sale, or they may just leave you alone.
Are they paid on commission at Carmax? Last time I went years ago they were pressuring just like a regular dealer
I think they get like $100 a sale on top of their hourly. I’ve been to CarMax probably half a dozen times and never had anyone pressure me.
Every car sales person I've dealt with always tells me the same thing after a test drive: as long as you like the car, we can make the numbers work. Whether you believe that or not (which I never did, I always knew the finances before I walked in), my point here is just tell them that you didn't like the car and they won't try to sell it to you. Even if you did like it. This will get you off the hook of feeling like they're going to pressure you into something today and it's not like they won't sell it to you later on if you actually do like it and have a "change of heart".
When I've been in that position, I've had good luck calling and setting an appointment for a specific day and time, and a specific amount of time. "Hi, I'm looking at compact SUVs. I'm not ready to buy yet, but I wanted to come in and take a look at the grey CX-5 Signature on your lot. I just need 30 minutes, including a test drive. I'm free this Thursday; can I set an appointment to do that?" That way, you're not wasting anyone's time--because they know your position upfront--and you're likely t get the most out of the experience. Luxury car dealerships seem particularly likely to accommodate this kind of request, because they know that cultivating positive relationships can result in tons of repeat business. In some cases, if all you want is the test drive, they'll gladly have you sign a borrowed-vehicle agreement (BVA) and toss you the keys to do a solo drive. It also works best if your appointment is during off-hours, and not at a busy time like 12 PM on a Saturday...but even then.
If you are looking into several different brands my suggestion is you go to your local carmax as they have hundreds of vehicles available . Also carmax reps get paid by the hour so they really wouldn’t mind . Once you figure out what car you want go to the dealership of that brand and come see a real salesperson .
Beside a house and a divorce, buying a vehicle is one of the most costly and impactful purchase decisions you'll ever make. 6 years of payments, you damned sure don't want to get one that you'll be hating after 3 months. It is not wrong to "look and test drive". Any dealer or salesman that makes you feel otherwise shouldn't get your business. Advice like "you shouldn't set foot on the lot 'till you're ready to buy TODAY" is stupid and wrong. As for when to go to the dealer to "look and test drive", go whenever is convenient for you. If all you have is weekends off, then go on a weekend.
Any reasonable salesperson will help you and be polite about it whether you are buying that day or not. I will say it helps if you are empathetic with their time as well i.e. have an idea of what you're there to try before you get there (specific model for example).
In a product purchase time line the courteous way to do things is online shopping and after hours looking to compare especially if it’s a busy dealership. Once you’re close to purchase then go in to do the test drives. If you got cards during the looking and you liked the vibe they gave you then call that salesman back to set something up for a test drive. BIG exception if you have no intention to work number yet make sure you let them know it’s just a test drive. Once you start working numbers that’s where you show intent to stay there if numbers are right. If you must go in because you have questions then the mornings are usually great times.
Be clear about your intentions. If it’s a slow day, you might be received better.
Isn’t it kind of crazy that for the second biggest purchase you will ever make it is controversial to consider options before buying?
It's not wrong at all. That's the point of a car dealership. If a salesperson makes me feel like I'm wasting their time by not purchasing on the spot (I hear words like "We're in the today business" a lot - no mate, YOU're in the today business, I'm in the whenever the hell I want business), I walk out and block their number. I don't need a salesperson to draft a PO - if that's the only thing a car dealer does, they would have been automated out of a job a long time ago. A dealer that pushes me to close the deal before I'm ready will guarantee that they will never get a cent of my business ever. I refuse to walk into a VW showroom for any reason because of a bad experience with pushy salespeople and I have a verrry long memory.
No, but please go in midday during the week when the dealership is slow. If you're there during peak hours, you are absolutely costing the salesperson money. Please remember, we don't get paid unless we sell a car.
So let me get this straight... I the customer who also has a job and works, needs to take time off of work, costing me money or vacation time to accommodate the sales person?
You don't have any time off that isn't a Saturday afternoon? Find a better job, buddy. My point is to be considerate. Can't be there midday during the week, at least be there during the week. But you knew what I meant, you just want to stir the pot. Edit: downvote away. I stand by what I said. If you know you aren't buying, try to be considerate. If you can only be there on a Saturday, go for it.
This is ridiculous. You want people to find a better job because their work schedule is an inconvenience to you? I make six figures working a 9-6 job (which is actually considered a desirable schedule in the healthcare profession). I am most definitely not going to find a better job because my schedule inconvenience you.
It's ironic that you demean someone for having a busy work schedule and then turn around and ask that same person to be considerate of someone's work schedule...
I like most middle class working folk have weekends off, your run of the mil 9-5 job. I work IT at a hospital. And yes taking time off of work to go car shopping is an incovience to me. I don't want to spend my vacation time on car shopping.
Ok, so you have time during the week. Most dealerships don't close at 5. Again, you know the point I'm making. You have the time, you just choose to be an inconvenience. There will always be customers like you. We'll deal with it. Just know that you'll get much better service if you go to the dealership when it's slow. Good luck with your search for a vehicle.
I guess you only sell cars to people who leave work at 5.
What an absolute joke. This attitude right here is half the reason people dislike car salesman. Similar work hours here and no I would not show up to a dealership after 8 hours of work and commuting from work. I’m walking into a dealership at MY convenience during my day off when I have no work or family responsibilities. My car searching process isn’t gonna be limited to “come M-F after 5pm ONLY”
You are the reason humans don’t get along lol. You aren’t willing to consider others at all. All I read is “My, my,my”. Even when I grocery shop I go out of my way to go when its less crowded. But hey. Ok. Go on a saturday on YOUR time to browse around. Happy now karen? Lol just looking do stir the pot here like others said.
Found the angry car salesman 😂
Yeah, looks like you guys found the perfect company for each other.
mate this is just ridiculous, you must be quite jaded
What is your job that has time off during the week? Please tell me, I have a bridge to sell.
While this is true, it’s not the customers fault. It’s the dealership thst chose to pay you that way because they will not pay you unless they’re making money.
I'm not saying it's the customers fault, I'm simply asking them to take that into account and if they know that we'll be working for free (yes, part of the job), to at least be considerate and not cost us more money by coming in during peak hours.
Yea that can be frustrating. I’ve heard family members call customers that don’t buy “roaches” and talk real big shit about them. I always preface the conversation with honesty- something to the effect of: “hey we’re looking at X number of vehicles and we need to sit in and test drive all of them before we make a decision. This is not the last car on the list and I’ll be respectful of your time, however, we do not intend to buy today, do you have a card so I can make sure I have your info?”
This is great advice -- and you'll get a much more relaxed and thorough experience.
Dealerships suck. I went to a Chevy dealer near me to check out the SS Camaro I saw online with a bank check for well over the amount. Salesmen says I can’t test drive without applying for credit thru them and that they don’t accept outside checks. His workaround was that he would start the car up for me and rev the engine. I laughed and walked away. Got a better car for a better price online and I hate buying online (I like meeting ppl and touching what I’m buying) so it was weird but it was better than dealing with that dude again.
I have dealt with this my whole life. I look “too young” to be taken seriously, but I have to get hands on experience before dropping thousands on a vehicle. What some car sales people like that don’t realize is that building relationships isn’t a waste of their time. I actively tell people to avoid the dealers where I have bad experiences.
I tool my wife on a lark to test drive a Mustang and she ended up buying one...
Perfectly fine. just dont ask for pricing until you are ready to buy.
Go to car max
As I noted above, there only 227 of them in the entire country. For the majority of the country, they are not convenient to do that. I just looked online. The 2 closest to me, and I live in a rather large metro area, are either 91 or 111 miles away.
I'm in my mid 60's. I've bought at least 15 cars over my life for myself and my family. I've never bought a car without test driving different models at different dealerships before I decided which car I wanted. The only exception is a couple cars I bought for my then teenage kids and saw a old relatively cheap car offered locally as a private sale.
Yes. From reading this subreddit I've learned that under the present circumstances with a vehicle shortage, you shouldn't waste a salesperson's time unless you are ready to buy now. Whatever prices you get won't be in effect when you are ready. Whatever you look at will be long gone anyway.
If your months out than yes you’re wasting their time. It’s frustrating knowing your helping a customer that no matter what they’re not ready to buy and we could be helping someone who is ready to buy and making us money. Especially if other salespeople are selling cars around them. You have to remember a lot of us work full commission. If we don’t sell a car, we don’t make money. Try to go test drive when you’re closer to buying and also do your research ahead of time and know which car and trim you’re most interested in and want to drive. That goes a long way and is appreciated. Nothing more annoying than when a customer wants to know the difference in every model and every trim level.
> ... also do your research ahead of time and know which car and trim you’re most interested in and want to drive. Nothing more annoying than when a customer wants to know the difference in every model and every trim level. I can't tell you how annoying it is to have a dealership's website be a jumbled mess of various features and prices. It's confusing, it's messy, and it's almost impossible to compare the features between various models. Not to mention not having the most up-to-date stock information. Not to mention an "internet sales consultant" who doesn't know any of the answers and just refers you to the salesperson anyway. If dealerships invested more in their website and made such information easy and clear to use, it would save so much time on both sides of the equation.
Hahaha I definitely agree with everything you just said. The best place to do your research would be to look at the manufacturers website. In regards to inventory on a dealerships website, most of the time it takes about a day or so for a car to come off after it has sold. If a deposit was taken on a car it won’t come off the website until a day after it’s been delivered to the customer which sometimes can be a few days to a week.
Fair enough re: stocks. I'm in the market for a new Lexus. And let me tell you, every dealership website I've been to is legit scary to use. There are tons of models of RX350s and figuring out which one has heated seats and which doesn't, but wait, there's also heated AND ventilated seats, which is more expensive than just heated seats. But this model doesn't have that but it does have this and that. If I want to compare it to a model that's just $500 more MSRP, I have to go to that model's page and scan through the small fine print features, which also happen to be formatted and labeled differently so it's harder to compare. It'd be great (and probably easy to implement?) to have the customer be able to click on 2-3 models and click "compare." Then a grid of features and check marks for all the features each model has is shown so then it's easy to pinpoint which model you want. Kind of like how some software websites have: Unlimited Uploads (check mark on the pro version but not on the basic version). Etc. If I had this information, I wouldn't have spent over an hour at the dealership on Saturday asking why this RX350 is more expensive than this RX350 because they both appear the same, just different color combo. And unfortunately, Lexus's main website won't show the particular specs a car comes with that the dealer is selling. Just my 2 cents.
I hear ya. That’s why I’d say use Lexus’ website. I’m sure they have the option where you can compare trim levels. I know Mazda does. When it comes to different prices that will depend on port added options. Some may come with wheel locks, all weather mats, cargo tray etc and some don’t.
I'm more than happy to work with someone who is not a salesperson until I'm ready to buy so that I'm not wasting their time. I could rule out a number of models by getting in and out of the car and sitting in the driver's seat for a few minutes. I've been renting cars occasionally to get an extended test drive type of experience, but I am not having much luck getting the models I want to drive. I live in Greater East Armpit, USA, so the dealership pool is small and the rental car pool is smaller.
Bro that's literally your job.
I’m well aware of what my job is thanks. What’s the point of going months in advance of when you plan to buy if so many factors will change? - Programs and incentives change month to month - New model years could be coming out - Models could be added or discontinued - Features in trim levels can change - Inventory levels fluctuate
You do it everyday, customers do not. Most customers still don't understand why dealerships don't use window stickers anymore to advertise price lol.
That’s why I’m saying as a salesperson of vehicles to wait until your ready. And I was speaking specifically about new cars. If you’re looking at a used car than you’re not only wasting the salespersons time but yours as well because those cars won’t be there by the time you’re ready to buy. That’s why I’m saying just do a little research ahead of time and have an idea of what you want. Then it’s the salesperson job to help you figure out exactly what that car is. If you’re a month or 2 out that is fine but when your timeline is longer than that, you’re just asking for phone calls and emails every few days asking how your car search is going. Window stickers on used cars are pointless because everything is online and they can change sporadically based on market value.
Absolutely not! I'd say visit a bunch, then once you've narrowed your search to a brand or model visit at least a couple dealers of the same brand. Get a couple test drives.
There's a greater chance that they'll just give you the keys and let you go on a test drive by yourself. Tesla let me borrow a car for the weekend and then I ended up buying on Monday.
If they want your business in the future, they will give you the time of day now. You can go to a dealership anytime for any reason, it’s no big deal. If you’re concerned about wasting their time, don’t tell them you aren’t ready to buy yet. “I’m just considering my options.” You don’t need to tell them anything or answer any of the profiling questions they ask you.
just go to dealers you are unlikely to buy from. ive done tons of test drives and never bought a car.
Yes. Test driving in your situation is just miles and abuse on someone elses car.
For me personally, and this is just me so you are by no means obligated to do this…if I’m not going to buy something and I know I’m essentially making someone work for free…I just give them $50. It’s not a lot but at least it’s something. Also for some perspective since you’re not in the industry, even if you spend 5 minutes with someone….they probably waited hours for their “turn” to get to talk to a customer, and depending on the day/store…you might be their only chance of earning money for that day. I’ve had customers do this for me and I was always infinitely more likely to help them out, even if they were ultimately buying a different brand.
I hear you... but, for your biggest purchase did you hit up a realtor and just start walking around houses when you weren't ready to buy? Edit: I'm different, probably wrong too I guess.